


7am sleepover

by chaoticneurobivergent



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I swear it's fluff, Trans Character, Trans Keith (Voltron), Trans Lance (Voltron), Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, Trans Shiro (Voltron), broganes, mention of PTSD, mention of periods, mention of transphobia, they're all trans woops, too many memes references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 09:15:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15312306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticneurobivergent/pseuds/chaoticneurobivergent
Summary: “What’s happening?”“Ugh, period day.”“Oh, sure. What did you guys set up?”“Mostly blankets and warm plushies. Hunk and Coran are trying to make some kind of tea, Allura’s making a show with the mice, Keith is dying, and Lance and I were thinking of joining this 7am sleepover. You in?”“Of course.”in which Keith got his periods so they all declared it's a break day. Emotional conversations & stories ensue because what kind of sleepover would it be if it didn't?





	7am sleepover

**Author's Note:**

> this is a very self-indulgent fic I wrote for a friend's birthday, enjoy!

Being a bit late wasn’t a big deal, it was pretty much common. So when Shiro stood alone in the practice room for the first minutes, he didn’t start worrying right away. Maybe it was a little unusual that none of the other paladins were there already, but ok, who knew, maybe they stayed up late playing video games and all fell asleep in the same room, and then they all missed their alarm. It made sense. They would just show up in another minute or two, and they would start exercise soon after. But when Shiro was still standing alone in the practice room half an hour later, he started actually worrying. When the door opened, he was ready to hear it, to get the bad news as quickly as possible and start thinking of their plan, but it wasn’t any urgent matter who walked near him, no Zarkon right outside nor lasers flying around; just Pidge.

“Hey so, could we cancel practice? I mean, I say “could we” but I think we’re basically cancelling it already. Sorry for telling you this late but we missed our alarms, and then we kinda decided to set up a support group for Keith - it just happened so fast.”

“What’s happening?”

“Ugh, period day.”

“Oh, sure. What did you guys set up?”

“Mostly blankets and warm plushies. Hunk and Coran are trying to make some kind of tea, Allura’s making a show with the mice, Keith is dying, and Lance and I were thinking of joining this 7am sleepover. You in?”

“Of course.”

That was a nice trick, thought Shiro while they left: you can’t be late to practice if you cancel it.

Keith had fallen asleep when they reached their living room. Pillows and blankets were indeed all over the sofa and the ground. Few glasses of a what Shiro guessed was the tea-like drink had found a place on the floor. Coran was narrating in a soft voice, Lance was braiding Allura’s hair who was painting Hunk's nails, and Pidge ran straight to the pillows near them. Shiro took a first stop near Keith, judging how pale and sick he looked behind his hair, the back of his hand brushing against his forehead - no fever at least.

“-and that’s how we see gender on Altea. It seems pretty close to you earthlings, I guess.”, Coran’s voice concluded.

“Oh, woh, you are really starting this with conversations about gender?”

“Well” started Lance without missing a strand of Allura’s hair, “the topic kinda presents itself, Shiro. Some misconceptions had to be cleared. In this house we don’t accept cisnormative talk.”

“Hell yeh we don’t. This is a trans and enby only event. Alteans are accepted but you’re on thin fucking ice.”

Allura didn’t even move from her spot, cross-legged and painting Hunk’s nails without looking at Pidge, while she deadpanned: “Coran and I are trans too we just don’t have the word, but go off.”

“Is there any other rule we should know about?” asked Shiro.

“Not really” Pidge took some second to consider. “Let’s just all have fun as if some evil dude wasn’t trying to conquer the whole universe.”

“You really know how to start a party.”

“I’m pretty sure this was sarcasm, but I’m gonna ignore it. So thanks Hunk.”

Ignoring the constant threat they lived under wasn’t easy. It had been years since Shiro had actually felt relaxed, without his heart ready to pump him back into action at any moment, without his brain making up plans for potential outcome in the back of his mind, without the knowledge that they had a responsibility and every minute they took to rest was a risk in itself. He wasn’t sure he could pretend they weren’t in space, fighting. His brain knew, anyway, and made it its mission to remind him that his last years had been for war, and that he was presently stuck in the same place: always ready to fight or flight or freeze, filled with worry.

But this was almost peaceful. And if Shiro forced himself to stay focus on Keith’s deep breathing and Lance’s rambling about type of braids, the atmosphere did feel like Earth, like a flash of the future where they would all be safe and sound, no more war, no more stress, just an infinite time to live the young years that were stolen from them. Shiro could get used to this.

  
  


Keith woke up when food was brought, slightly dizzy and hot under the huge blanket. His eyes had just opened when a whispered “can I braid your hair?” set him back in reality. Right, yes. He woke up feeling like shit, ended wrapped up on the sofa. Practice cancelled, probably. He was not hungry at all, and still feeling sick, but the sight of the others laid out on the ground, playing cards in this sort of safe place they set up, was sweet. And Lance’s eyes were still on him, waiting.

“You did all of them?” Keith whispered back.

“Yeh. It’s fun. Your turn, now.”

“Sure.”

Keith slowly rose up, leaving some place for Lance to join him on the sofa. Though he immediately fell back against Lance’s chest, legs up and strong against his belly to deal with the pain. He closed his eyes and let the feel of Lance’s fingers playing with his hair eased him. The scene was so simple it seemed strange, like a sunday or a vivid dream - unreal. Keith hadn’t expected them all to drop today’s planning just because he could barely walk. He would have managed – maybe - if he had to - he did it before.

But no one asked him to run and spare, Pidge simply declared it was a break day. And not only did they let him rest, they were all now chilling in the middle of the Castle, where war plans were made, they decided to play games and drink tea. That was soft, and dope. Like hearing Lance still whispering for him, right near his ear.

“-so that’s what you missed while sleeping. Didn’t lose much, really. Shiro kept telling us to stay quiet, so we haven’t shared personal stories yet.”

“What, we have to tell stories, now?”

“Hmmm yeh? That’s kinda what we do during sleepovers. I can’t wait for us to get emotional. No offense, but I’m so hyped to learn more about Shiro’s life!”

“You could just ask him, you know.”

“No, that wouldn’t be appropriate. Stories must be shared freely, with the flow, who knows what we will say! Will I ever learn Shiro’s secret for being that strong? Maybe today, maybe not!”

“I don’t think you have to stay close to the etiquette. If you have questions, just ask. Shiro will not mind, sharing stories and being a role model is like, his job or something.”

Lance seemed to pause his movements in Keith’s hair, considering.

“You think?”

“Yeh. Really.”

  
  


It was late. That was how Lance explained his behavior. It wasn’t 11pm or 3am late, but it was the late morning, and in a 7am sleepover, it was roughly the same thing. So it was late. And Lance had braided everyone’s hair already, and he needed to distract himself from how Keith didn’t move from between his legs once he was done. He felt brave also, and he didn’t know when he would have another opportunity - he couldn’t just miss it, ok?

“Hey Shiro…” Lance felt Keith move against his shoulder, probably looking up at him for encouragement. Shiro wouldn’t mind, yeh. Still, maybe it was too personal?

Shiro interrupted his doubts, turning his head at him. “Yes?”

“Did you uh. Are you… No, I mean, was it hmmm.”

“Lance not saying every word coming through his mind? What’s happening?” Pidge had probably more jokes to that, but a glance from Shiro was enough to make her stop. And now they probably all thought it was deeply serious and he was dying or whatever.

“Quiznak.” Lance took a deep breath. There was blush all over his face when he asked, his voice cracked at the start but he kept going. Because whatever, they were stuck in space, he was too likely to die before seeing rain again, opening his heart to his childhood hero was nothing in the grand scheme of things. “What I want to say is thank you? I’m not sure it’s right, because I don’t think you did it for guys like me, or girls like Pidge, or enbies like Hunk. I guess it was mostly for yourself. But still. Thank you. You have, literally, been a role model for me, even before the lions and Voltron.” His hands went back to black strands of hair, eyes focused on nothing, trying to calm down his heartbeat without forgetting any important thought. “It was so important for me to see you, to know you were at the Garrison and succeeding all while being openly trans. You started HRT there?! I still can’t believe it! I was so young and I thought I could never and I’ll have to wait forever. But you did. So I thought I could too, and I did. I wouldn’t have if it weren’t thanks to you. You made the journey easier for us, and I hope it wasn’t too hard for you.”

Lance didn’t quite notice his eyes were wet before he was done talking. His throat hurt, so tight he wondered how he had managed to get through this. He sniffed, still hoping no one would notice despite the silence which fell on them. He didn’t expect to get this emotional. He just hoped he hadn’t ruined the party. Keith’s hands stroking his brown hair told him it was okay, and he noticed Shiro standing and walking to them - another good sign. But it was Pidge’s voice which reassured Lance the most, it was her simple “mood” which made him laugh. Then Shiro’s arms were around him, and in this simple and safe embrace, Lance let go of all the tears. It was good tears. Not the ones you shed when something bad happened and you’d rather deal with anything but that, not the ones that got you at night when you try to remember how your own house feels like. More like the ones you shed when you have to process all the pain that is gone, the ones that got you when a moment is so good and you had forgotten life could be that way.

  
  


The first person Shiro told at the Garrison was Matt. He was barely eleven, still wearing long hair. It was weird to think of that now, not only was it so long ago, but it felt like a whole other lifetime. Another name, another voice, and so much awkwardness. He knew Matt wouldn’t react badly, but bringing up the topic wasn’t really easy, so he blurted it out more than he confessed. It made sense that it just escaped his lips as the words had been on the back of his throat for so long, reaching the tip of his tongue so often - but he kept swallowing them back. Shiro said “I’m a boy” and Matt replied “ok”. A few seconds passed in silence, Shiro fixing his friend’s books on the desk they shared, before Matt talked again.

“My sister is a girl.”

“...ok? I know? I’ve met her?”

“Oh wait no, I mean. She’s trans. Is it okay for me to say this shit maybe I shouldn’t have. She’s pretty open but still don’t tell anyone.”

Shiro’s train of thought was stuck on an infinite “ooooh” over which he kept talking anyway.

“I won’t. And same. It’s a secret for me, I guess.”

“Got it. Love you bro.”

It didn’t stay a secret for too long. Shiro went through most middle school by cutting his hair, trying to pass as much as he could with binders and straight pants. And when he got two stripes on his Garrison’s jacket, meaning he was entering high school, he decided to come out. He showed up beforehand with his mum, and explained the thing. Shiro will not tell Lance or the others how they made him cry on this first meeting, how his mum started shouting at them but they didn’t listen, didn’t understand - didn’t try to -, and didn’t care. He will not go into the details of how long he fought, nor how many times he cried again. They knew, probably, that it hadn’t been easy, that he didn’t fix their system in one brand gesture. They knew the tears already, they knew the struggle of misgendering and passing. They knew this shit, lived it from the closet, too. And if he made the journey easier - maybe, a little bit - he hadn’t had the power to prevent all of the pain. He wished he had.

All his teachers and classmates had already accepted it when Shiro got the administration to finally change their damn papers. By then, everything turned around. The Garrison started praising themselves for being so inclusive, and Shiro being their best student was pretty convenient. He had been used to promote the same institution that spit on his face years ago. Though when he was able to walk freely as himself, when he was finally starting T, becoming a public figure seemed like a small price to pay. In a way, he told himself, if him being that open and going out of the Garrison to tell scripted speeches could help anyone, then it was worth it. He just wanted to help.

Shiro always figured he had helped. The mere fact that now, at least, they accepted other trans students without trying to convince them to see a therapist, told him that. And Keith hadn’t had to go through the same things; the administration had probably figured Keith would not hesitate to physically fight them if they dared try to make him leave the boys dorms. Shiro would have not let them either, and being in poor terms with their prodigy student wasn’t something they wanted - not when the same student could easily leak bad receipts. He had influenced, he had noticed with Keith and with Pidge - even though being a Holt daughter, something most people never even questioned, she would have survived without him.

However Lance’s confession was a whole other thing. Before then, it was a thought, an idea - hypothetical trans teenagers. But now it was Lance, and Hunk, and who knew who else. And Shiro was speechless. There was anger in his guts towards the Garrison, for not taking care of them as they should have, there was love in his chest for Lance and all of those teens that he hoped hadn’t struggled as much as he did, and there was sadness in his heart, sorry that he was for not being able to protect them all. Most of all, though, he was thankful. It felt selfish to accept Lance’s words and reassure himself that even if he did little, he still did something. But Keith eyes near him reminded him that it was just a fact, that Lance was right, and that helping people and saving the world wasn’t his sole purpose - funnily enough, it was theirs. Not today, though. Today they rested, today they remembered the sweetness of life, and the beauty there was in coincidences. Today they were living – and that was enough.

 

**Author's Note:**

> don't hesitate to leave a kudo and/or comment!  
> I got a new twitter side-account, you can also follow me there → [@keithisautistic](https://twitter.com/keithisautistic)


End file.
